EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ – Electricity A (Four Starzzz shark) used a lot of grit and determination to get the job done during Friday night’s harness racing at The Meadowlands, a high-end conditioned pace for fillies and mares that produced a $17,500 purse.
The 8-year-old daughter of Four Starzzz Shark-Protikori had some problems in the beginning, because after quickly moving away from post two in the eight-horse field (there were two scratches), she was still in third place while Dandy’s Mercy blistered the opening quarter in: 26.2.
Driver Mark Herschberger then pushed Elektra A into the lead, reaching the point just before the three-eighths mark. She hit the half with a load of :54.2, and should be very good to win this evening with strong winds and a real temperature of around 30 degrees.
And she was.
“The front wasn’t good tonight,” Herschberger said. “The headwind is quite brutal on the track. When the half came up I saw: 54.2 and thought we might be in trouble here. But she had a brave effort and kept them aside late.”
A third quarter rated at :29 might have given Elektra A the lead she needed as despite the token pressure she had exerted with a first over Take Your Pick, the eventual winner had a final quarter of :28 in her tank to hold the finish by half a length over a determined Take Your Pick, who finished second at odds of 53-1. Stonecoldtreachery rallied around the inside for third place.
ELECTRA A REPEAT
“She definitely dug in when she heard them in her wheel,” Herschberger said.
Jeff Cullipher, the lead trainer at The Big M, trains the horse, which is owned by Pollack Racing LLC. She returned $6.60 to win as the 2-1 favorite and recorded her 28e career win from 109 starts after the clock stops in 1:51.2. Her career earnings now stand at just over $425,000.
DEBBIE DYNAMITE: Debbie Little, the Communicators Hall of Famer and Associate Editor at Harness Racing Update, made her second appearance in 30 years as co-host on the in-house TV presentation and followed up her six-winner performance from a few weeks ago with five more Friday, including the Early Daily Double and four cold Exactas.
Little correctly tapped Just My Mama ($6.80 to win, $18.40 Exacta) in the first; The Opener ($15.20, $90.00, $66.60 Early Double) in the second; Elektra A ($6.60) in the ninth; value game Tricky Wicky ($7, $42.60) in the 11e; and Aardiebythehill N ($2.80, $17.60) in the 13e.
A LITTLE MORE: James Kennedy and Herschberger led the drivers’ colony with three wins each, while Geovany Hernandez and Jeffrey Smith led the trainers with a pair of walks through victory lane each. … All sources for the 14-race program totaled $2,459,049. … Racing resumes Saturday at 6:20 p.m. with four Kindergarten Series finals atop the marquee with purses totaling $500,000.
For full race results, click here: American trotting results
Through Dave Kleinfor The Meadowlands
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